Stronger
by BB-Hodgela-slaudia-forever
Summary: With her heart broken after Nikolas left her. She loses the one man she could always trust. She feels like she has to be stronger. But another man is there to pick up the pieces. ONESHOT


He had left them two years ago today. She still couldn't believe that. Nikolas, the prince charming of Port Charles, had left Claudia, his wife, and their one year old daughter, Natalie, to fend for themselves. She couldn't believe she was stupid enough to fall in 'love', to believe that he actually loved her and their daughter. All she wanted after she lost her and Sonny's baby was comfort and for some reason Nikolas was there to give it to her when Sonny wasn't. That's when everything changed. She moved to Spoon Island, divorced Sonny, and married Nik. She thought it had been the best decision she ever made, she was so wrong.

_He set Natalie down next to her on the couch then walked back upstairs. She knew something was off, she immediately put down the magazine she was reading and put her daughter in her lap. She heard slamming down the steps and her husband came in the living room with suitcases. She was confused. Was he going o a sudden business trip? It never occurred to her that he would leave and take Spencer with him. Yet there the nine year old was, carrying his own suitcases. Nikolas wouldn't even look her straight in the eye._

"_Nik……? What's going on? Where are you and Spence going?" Claudia seemed frantic as she stood up, Natalie still on her hip. Spencer looked up at his little sister and frowned. "Spencer can you tell me what's going on?" Claudia looked at the young boy. Before he could say anything Nikolas answered._

"_Spencer can you go out to the dock please," Spencer nodded his head and hugged Claudia, before leaving the room. "I'm leaving Claudia and I'm not coming back. You can decide to stay here or leave. I've already signed over full custody of Natalie." The little girl, who somehow knew they were talking about her, reached her arms out to her father._

"_She needs you, Nik. I need you. How can you just leave?!" Claudia placed her daughter in the playpen and slammed her fist against the wall. "How could you do this to us? If you leave, you can't come back."_

"_I know." And with that her life disappeared. Just walked straight out the door._

She couldn't even think about that right now. She had to get herself and Natalie dressed. For a funeral. Her brother's funeral, Natalie's uncle. She couldn't cry now. Her daughter didn't understand why her Uncle Johnny hadn't come to baby-sit her. Today Claudia knew she had to be civil to Olivia, Johnny's wife. She got dressed and then dressed her daughter. She loaded up the car and began to make her way to the funeral home where she would say goodbye to the one man she could always trust.

"Momma where's we going?" Natalie asked. Claudia didn't know how to answer without crying.

"Don't you worry baby, mommy will tell you when I need to." She reassured her. When they got to the funeral home Claudia parked and rested her head on the seat for just a few minutes, letting some tears fall from her eyes. She shook her head of all thoughts and tried to become numb. She failed to do so, she never had been able to block out her feelings since she had been with Nikolas. Someone knocked on her window and she opened her eyes to see Lulu and Carly. Claudia unlocked the doors and got out. Both women hugged her.

"How ya holding up?" Carly asked. It wasn't a question Claudia could answer without full fledge sobbing, so she shook her head. It didn't matter how she was doing, it was how Natalie was doing and how Olivia was doing.

"My brother is gone, my little brother. I was supposed to protect him." Carly had her in her arms after her voice cracked the first time. Claudia pulled back and wiped the tears without her mascara running. "I can't do this. Nat is in the car wondering what the hell is going on and I don't know how to explain to her that her uncle is dead. She's just a baby, first her father and now her uncle." 

"Claudia her father isn't dead." Lulu told her, she had just talked to Nikolas last night.

"Lulu I know he's your brother, but to me and my daughter he is dead. He was dead the second he walked out of our daughter's life. When he didn't care enough to look me directly in the eyes and say goodbye." She grabbed her daughter from the car and walked away without a second thought. Carly and Lulu exchanged glances before following behind Claudia.

When she got into the funeral home she paused. Olivia had gone for an open casket. A tear managed to slip through her eye, Natalie wiped it away with her tiny hand and stared at her mother. She had never seen her mom cry. Claudia looked to both of her sides and saw Carly and Lulu standing there giving her support. Claudia leaned in and whispered something to Lulu, who nodded and smiled.

"Nat, you're gonna spend the day with Aunt Lulu, okay? I love you baby girl, so so much." She handed over her daughter and went to find Olivia. She couldn't stand the woman on a good day, but today was an exception. Today they were both grieving and neither had the energy to fight. "How are you?" Claudia asked once she had found Olivia.

"Bad, your brother was everything to me. Now he's gone and I don't know how I'll go on." Claudia just nodded. She listened to Olivia for awhile, before the priest announced it was time for the funeral to begin. Claudia opted to sit on the back row, easy out if she needed it. No one would ever see her cry, not today, not ever. 

Strong for everyone, that's how she was. Her strength held everyone else up. She had to be strong it was her only choice.

**XOXOXO**

The priest was done talking and now it was time for the people who wanted to, to go up and share a few word about Johnny. People got up and talked, but she didn't pay much attention until Olivia went up.

"Johnny was such a good man. He was so caring, sweet, and he would probably kill me for sharing that, but it's true. He had a loyalty in him that could never be broken. Claudia knows that, she's a lucky person. She knew my husband from the day he was born and she protected him. Claudia, I don't know where you're sitting but I want to thank you." People looked around, but Claudia had already left the room. Heck, she had left the building. She sat in her car and sobbed. She swore the ground shook from her sobs. The hurt was there.

Johnny had been everything to her for so long, her only reason for getting up and surviving. Her heart ached to be with him, but she couldn't leave Natalie. Not yet. "Johnny, I'm so sorry." Before Claudia had any understanding of what was happening a hand was on her shoulder. She looked up to see Sonny. "Why……why are you here?" She had to admit it was hard to see him, even though she was the one that broke up with him.

"Your brother was a very good worker, and I haven't see you in three years. Plus I'm a sucker for a damsel in distress remember?" He smiled at her, showing her his dimples. She nodded.

"I never have been one of those though. I'm sorry about what happened to us. I didn't even say goodbye."

"I didn't even know you were planning on leaving." He shot back. 

"I wasn't planning on it, I saw Nik one day and he just seemed to be a comfort. That's what I need you know." She jumped out of the car and sat on the grass. Her head was in her hands and she sobbed. "Sonny I can't talk about this right now, not at my brother's funeral." She cried. Sonny sat down next to her and gathered her in his arms.

"Hey, that's fine. But why aren't you in there? You think you're too strong to cry." She nodded. "Claudia, no one is ever too strong to cry. Don't you dare think that, you're allowed to cry, especially today."

"You don't know what's happened to me in the last few years, do you?" She pulled away and looked at him. He shook his head at her. "Nikolas left me." She heard him swear under his breath. People started to walk out of the building and Natalie came running up to her.

"Mommy!" She screamed, jumping into her arms. Sonny sat there, staring, mouth opened wide. Claudia pushed his jaw back up.

"He left her too." She added. Sonny got up and helped Claudia up.

"Maybe you two could come over?" Sonny asked. Claudia smiled a weak smile. After the conversation they had just had, she felt like she needed to be with him. 

"Yeah, I really don't want to see him be put into the ground." She said sadly, she put Natalie in her car seat and let Sonny drive to the one house she once used to know so well. It looked the same, all the furniture she had brought in. Natalie was asleep, by the time they were in the house, Claudia laid her on the side couch. "It still looks the same." 

"I liked what you did to it. Why change it? He hurt you, didn't he?" Claudia nodded. "I should kill him, that stubborn prince." She lightly touched his arm.

"I'm over it by now, I was too high-strung for him. It's not a big deal. What can I do to repay you for helping me today at the funeral?" She had to change the subject. This whole day had been hell for her and she didn't want to think about it anymore.

"Have dinner with me?"

"Sonny Corinthos are you asking me out?" She smiled.

"Yes, I believe I am. And if this works I promise I will love Natalie exactly as if she were my own." 

"Thank you, Sonny."

**XOXOXO 4 years later**

They watched from the car as she walked into the school. It never got easy, especially when she turned around and yelled, "Bye mom, bye daddy love you!" They were together as a family and nothing was ever going to change that. 


End file.
